


Listen to Your Heart

by shyath



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cheating, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyath/pseuds/shyath
Summary: A certain redhead found true love in a most unexpected place with a most unexpected person.
Relationships: Ginny Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Hermione Granger/Ginny Weasley, Pansy Parkinson/Ginny Weasley
Kudos: 5





	Listen to Your Heart

It had been so long since she last voluntarily ventured into something as harebrained as this that it made Ginny feels like she was in her Hogwarts years once more and there was McGonagall or Filch waiting just around the corner to give her the berating of her life. She smoothed down the front of her shirt nervously as she tried to stop the shaking of her legs simultaneously. The dimness of the light and the abundance of gauzy fabrics had been intended to inspire intimacy and privacy, but in all honesty, they only served to scare her to bits. Ginny loved Lavender and Parvati to pieces, but it looked like she should not have trusted their judgment on this.

"Number 19?" called out a voice, startling the bundle of nerves Ginny had degenerated into and shocking her into silence. It was only when the question was repeated did it register in her mind and she actually paid attention to the speaker. As per the rules and regulations of the dating agency, Sparks, which Lavender and Parvati co-founded, the seeker was not allowed into a booth unless the number extended an invitation.

When the entire group had gathered earlier this evening, Parvati and Lavender had made them line up and then, holding a top hat in an eerie rendition of one of those game shows Hermione had made her watch, the women in line drew slots. Those who drew number slots were to go and sit in their respective, numbered booths and those who drew empty slots were called seekers. Seekers moved from one booth to the next in an orderly fashion, spending five minutes maximum per booth to court the numbers so that when the seeker submitted the list of numbers they preferred, a maximum of five, for the agency to work their wonders, the number would agree to meeting their anonymous first dates arranged by Sparks – who would of course be one of the seekers. It was all safe play; no names would even be exchanged before the first date.

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry. I – uh, I was a little … you know," she stuttered.

"Don't worry about it. The suspense had me rooted to the spot as well," teased the seeker as she pushed aside the curtains to squeeze into the booth.

Once she regained her composure, Ginny turned to discreetly watching the stranger as she sat down. Seated across from Ginny was possibly, with no need to exaggerate the facts at hand, the most gorgeous and, at the moment, delectable-looking brunette Ginny had ever come across in her short life in this world. But perhaps the quality of her appraisal should not be held in high regards especially judging that she had not dipped her little toe in the dating pool for far too long and she had a bit – okay, a lot – of a soft spot for brunettes; beautiful ones, in particular.

The brunette in question looked about 5'11, give or take an inch, a perfect complement to Ginny's own 6'2. Ginny could not be too sure in this lighting but the brunette seemed to be wearing what looked like a dark, tailored, branded pantsuit. The quality and choice of wardrobe suggested openness to the Muggle world and a considerable Gringotts account. Ginny did prefer open-minded witches. It also helped if they were drop-dead beautiful like this one. The scale was tipping much too fast in the brunette's favour.

Ginny's eyes raked critically over the brunette's features. Her face was long with a pointed chin – an ideal match to her height and statuesque proportions. Ginny was disappointed, however, to find that the lighting was preventing her from seeing the colour of her eyes, but made do with silently appreciating the sculpted nose, the high cheekbones and the full lips. Her black hair framed her face and fell in generous waves down her back. It did not make her look messy. Quite the contrary, the brunette looked like … she was radiating pure energy.

When Ginny finally realized that she was staring, she looked down quickly to hide her blush – only noting belatedly that there was no way the brunette could see it in this lighting. "I'm sorry. I – uh, didn't mean to stare," Ginny mumbled. She was a decorated, senior Auror for Merlin's sake, but she could not handle talking to a beautiful woman? It must be a birth defect to be so useless when it came to this aspect of socializing. She must have more in common with Ron than she ever realized.

"It's entirely acceptable. I was doing a little staring myself," the brunette replied brazenly, releasing a throaty chuckle as she winked at Ginny. She had failed to notice before, but now that she did; the stranger's voice reminded her of something: hot whiskey – warm, velvety even with a hint of sultry, the type of voice made especially for seduction and passionate nights, definitely not a voice to belong to someone who needed the services of a dating agency.

"Oh," was all Ginny could manage. She was getting more tongue-tied.

"You know, Ms. Number 19. I never love beating around the bush, as our American counterparts so enjoy saying. I make it a point to be frank. So let me enlighten you: I intend on using the five minutes, which I find entirely lacking for a proper courting session but which I have to work with on impressing you so thoroughly that you would find it entirely unethical and quite outside your capacity to say no to my charms."

"Are – uh, are you always this … this candid?" Ginny asked, reeling from the sudden verbal barrage.

The seeker chuckled. "I told you; I like being frank. It comes with the job description and it comes with my breeding. When I see something, or in our case, someone, that I like, I go for it or her with all I've got."

"Uh, does – does this … tactic always work?"

"I have yet to fail." The stranger winked once more.

* * *

Under normal circumstances, Ginny would feel obligated to stay a while and let Parvati and Lavender know what she thought of the evening. It was the first 'females-only' evening and they were particularly anxious about it. Should it come off as a blast, they looked to make it a regular event. But the brunette, true to her words, had charmed her off her boots so thoroughly, Ginny was not sure she would be able to live down the teasing her two friends were sure to give her if they could just see the blush she was sporting when she ran out of Sparks the first chance she got.

She had been so distracted that she did not notice she was back in the living room of her own apartment in downtown Muggle London. She must have Apparated back without realizing she had done so.

"I'm home," Ginny called out loudly once she made sure the memories of the night were pushed firmly to the back of her mind and a smile was on her face.

"Hey, darling," answered a contralto voice from inside the master bedroom.

Ginny walked into the bedroom and made sure to close the door before leaning down to kiss Kate on the cheek. "Missed me?" she asked fondly, kneeling down next to Kate's wheelchair. Katherine Ford was an American witch Ginny had met and fallen in love with during the War. It had been nearly half a decade since the War ended and despite numerous spells, potions and other attempts by the most seasoned of Healers; Kate's legs had remained as lifeless as they had been when Ginny found her on top of herself after their final confrontation with the Dark Lord. Kate had suffered the injury to protect Ginny and perhaps it was the obligation that … No, she would not go there. Kate deserved more than that from her.

"Just a little," Kate teased. Kate was about the stranger's height, Ginny noted absently, and if not as at least nearly as beautiful as the other brunette. With her lush, midnight-black tresses and the most incredible pair of blue eyes, Kate remained one of the most beautiful women Ginny had ever met – but tonight she had met a woman standing next to whom Kate would pale in comparison. Finding herself straying to thoughts of the stranger once more, Ginny turned to mentally berating and physically shaking her head to clear her mind. She was with Kate. That should be enough. The stranger was just part of an observation she promised Lavender and Parvati. That was all, nothing more.

"Just a little?" Ginny asked incredulously, lifting one eyebrow. "Well, let's see if I can change your mind," she whispered huskily as she leaned in to kiss Kate, this time on the lips she was so very familiar with.

* * *

"Guess who Ms. Popular was?" Lavender called out in a singsong voice as she Apparated into Ginny's and Kate's apartment. Another crack announced Parvati's entrance.

"You're going to tell me anyhow," Ginny said flatly. Kate was still at work. She herself had just returned home from what was supposed to be a routine assignment but they had had more trouble detaining the wizard and it had resulted in a brief skirmish. But that was not before the wizard managed to cause a blob of goo to stick permanently to a certain redhead.

"Uh, what exactly is that?" Lavender asked, distracted from the conversation by the goo dancing and making offensive signs on top of Ginny's head.

"Long story," Ginny sighed as she resorted to manhandling the goo unsuccessfully. If that goo were not gone by the end of the night, she would have to talk to Hermione.

"Very interesting," Parvati commented, looking genuinely interested as she poked at the goo with her wand.

"Anyhow," Lavender finally said, tearing her eyes away from the goo, "my dear Ginny, you have more seekers listing you than I care to tell. But being the nice, helpful friends that deep, deep, way deep down in your heart you know we truly are, we have cut down the list to only five. I assure you, they are beautiful and, most importantly, brunette."

"Lavender, I told you I was just helping -"

"But -"

"No, Parvati. In case you two forgot, I love Kate. And I'm perfectly happy with her."

"Really now?"

Lavender's question took her off guard. Just for a moment. But it took her off guard nonetheless. It required some effort and willpower to force the words out after that. "Really. Now if you two would be so kind as to leave me, I have goo to get rid of, a dinner to prepare and a woman to wait for."

"Girl, we're just worried about you -"

"We have nothing against Kate, you know -"

"Perfectly lovely person that she is -"

"But the fire is gone -"

"Undoubtedly -"

"And we just want to see you -"

"Be the redhead that we know you are -"

"A little wild -"

"Say 'be damned to caution' -"

"And Kate's safe -"

"Too safe -"

"You need to play with fire -"

"I mean, the woman is gorgeous -"

"Could have been a model for all we know -"

"But again we must say -"

"She is becoming too domestic -"

"You need something fresh -"

"Domestic is really not your scene after all -"

"That's enough, you two. I said I love Kate and I'm happy with her. I mean it."

Lavender and Parvati sported twin expressions of guilt on their face. "We're sorry. Very. We know you love Kate. We just – we're sorry."

"I know."

"But give it a thought, alright?"

"No -"

"Seriously, some of these suitors can be very persistent."

"Looked into a mirror lately?" Ginny smirked a little at that.

"Seriously, Gin. We warned you," Lavender said as she Disapparated in a loud crack. Parvati winked once at Ginny before following Lavender.

* * *

Nursing the scalding cup of coffee in her hands, Ginny found her mind wandering to her Muggle counterparts and their association with not only coffee but also doughnuts. Curse Hermione for 'educating' her in Muggle crime movies. But then, they always had better things to do under the blanket once the movies took a turn for the worse. Ginny found herself grinning at that.

She navigated the crowded café with relative ease and made for the empty table in the corner out of habit but found she had to wait while the busboys cleared a few tables. Sighing, she turned slightly and caught her reflection in the mirrors lining a section of the café's walls.

She looked … gaunt. That was probably the most fitting word. The moment she left Hogwarts, she had taken to destroying the healthy eating habit her mother had taken pains into instilling – whether consciously or not – and now she actually had to will an appetite to have and enjoy a meal. Coffee was probably the one exception. What with her avid love of exercises and naturally fast metabolism, Ginny stood to look even thinner than she really was – more lines and angles than she was ever meant to be.

Ginny sighed and ran her fingers through her flaming red mane. _One of these days_ , she thought as she smiled distractedly at the busboys, _I have to ask Kate why she picked me of all people_. She sat down at her table and looked down into the cup of coffee. Her face wavered in the dark liquid and then disappeared as she stirred sugar into it.

* * *

"Check out the scorching brunette on the front cover," called out James Redford as he tossed the latest edition of Witch Weekly onto her desk.

"I don't even want to know why you have this in the first place," Ginny said, mock shuddering as she picked up the magazine gingerly. She had last read the magazine sometime before the War and had never bothered to renew her subscriptions once the War was over.

"Whoa," Ginny let slip once her eyes fell on the 'scorching brunette' James had referred to.

"Whoa is totally right," James purred, leaning against her desk and over her shoulder. "Check her out, man. Gorgeous and by the look of the tag attached to her, she must be dripping in Galleons."

"And she's … Pansy Parkinson," Ginny murmured, torn between disappointment and dislike. Somewhere along the years she had come to respect Pansy – mostly because she had been very outspoken on whose side she stood and even though she had not taken up any actual fighting during the War, she had poured in much-needed Galleons and once the War was over, set up shelters for the War orphans and the injured. But the memories she had had of Pansy during their Hogwarts years had left too strong a negative impression on her and Ginny held on strong to the sentiment.

Something about Pansy's picture, however, (because she looked quite different from back then – what with her bronze complexion, her generous curves and the dark eyes Ginny now found irresistible) was acutely familiar. Brunettes were not an exact rarity in her life but beautiful ones … A face jumped out at her from the depth of her memories. No, life could not be that cruel. There was no way in Merlin's frigid love life that Pansy could have been the stranger she had met a few nights ago. James' comments fell on deaf ears as Ginny frantically tried to convince herself that the brunette she was infatuated with was not Pansy.


End file.
